China hopes to promote military ties with next U.S. administration

BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday that it is willing to promote military ties with the defense department of the next administration of the United States.

The ministry's spokesperson Yang Yujun said at a press conference that thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, recent years had seen further development of China-U.S. military ties.

The two sides have conducted effective cooperation on high-level visits, mechanisms of consultation, exchanges between military colleges, joint drills and training, as well as positive communication, Yang added.

In the meantime, the two sides have tried to strengthen strategic and action-level dialogue, control of differences and risks, and the building of a new type of major country relations between the two sides, Yang said.x "China is willing to make joint efforts with the defense department of the next administration of the United States in a bid to promote the healthy and stable development of relations between the two militaries," Yang said.

The spokesperson noted that as some deep-seated contradictions and obstacles lie in China-U.S. military relations, he hoped the United States would practically respect China's core interests and major concerns as well as China's sovereignty and rights.

Yang urged the United States to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and take the smooth and healthy China-U.S. relations to the new administration.